HELLO MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONISTS
WHY I CHOSE MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION!
For a long time I dreamed about having a job that allowed me to work from home but was nervous about giving up the guaranteed income of the job I had for a home business or self-employment. I didn’t want to waste time or money on some work at home scam so I just kept dreaming. When my sister-in-law graduated from a medical transcription program and got a job right out of school I followed her lead.
THE MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION PROFESSION
Each time a physician sees a patient a summary of that visit is placed in the patient’s chart. Typically the summary or note is dictated and the report typed by a medical transcriptionist. Physicians in every clinical setting and medical specialty utilize transcriptionists in their practice. The terminology used by physicians is different from everyday speech and often quite complex so it is difficult to find medical transcription employment without training.
BECOME A MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST
Medical transcription instruction programs differ in tuition cost and program duration. The choice of a training course should be based on the individual needs of the student. I got my medical transcription training online through Career Step. Check out this site to find out more about their program http://referral.careerstep.com/ref33238
MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION RESOURCE SITE
This site offers tips on medical transcription employment, medical transcription training courses and medical transcription tax deductions and transcription business expenses. You will also find a medical transcription reference site with information such as eponymous physical examination terms, eponymous diagnosis list and a directory of hospitals by state. I to pass on some medical transcription tips such as information on developing a free word expander in Microsoft word as well as using Microsoft word as a free spell checker and free grammar check program.
TRANSCRIPTIONology
Ology is a medical suffix that means branch of knowledge. Transcription is my branch of knowledge. I have set up my site to offer you knowledge in categories such as PRODUCTIONology with ways to increase transcription speed and medical transcription earnings. Under RFERENCEology I have posted medical transcription reference material such as state hospital lists, eponymous medical terms, a list of muscles in the body, a list of bones in the body and much, much more.
MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST FORUM
I hope to hear from you! Medical transcriptionists what do you like or hate about your job? Are you looking for advice on a legitimate work from home job or medical transcription instruction courses? Are you seeking medical transcription employment with no experience and opportunities for entry level medical transcription jobs? Post your thoughts under CHATology or email me at lori@transcriptionology.com
I hope you like my site — Laura Naumann
CURRENT TRENDS IN MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION
I am adding this section in response to some recent posts to CHATology. For the last few years I have been posting articles and comments about changes transcriptionists can anticipate. I encouraged in-house MTs to be prepared for outsourcing and all MTs to brush up on VR editing. I also tried to paint an accurate picture of what transcriptionists were actually earning versus the income quoted by certain MT training courses. While I still feel that medical transcription is a viable choice for anyone restricted to working from home I am discouraging those without such extenuating circumstances from entering the field. Those of us employed at medical transcriptionists need to face the facts. The demand for even the most experienced transcriptionists is very low and the compensation abhorrent. I hear from frustrated MTs trying to support a family on the equivalent of $5/hour and in some cases even less. I continue to get comments and email from current MT’s and future MT’s concerned about the profession and I’m worried too. I wonder how many doctors will choose the cost benefits of voice recognition over the accuracy of a trained transcriptionist. Only the future will tell. You may find the new e-book released by Career Step informative and somewhat encouraging. Here’s the link http://www.careerstep.com/mt-myths-ebook
Thank you so much for your website. It is a wonderful site and has helped me tremendously! I will continue to come back here over and over. It is so informative.
I will be enrolling at Career Step shortly and I will be taking their Medical Transcription Editor course. It is scarey because although I have over 40 yrs. of office/typing experience, I am 60 yrs. old and am not sure I could get a transcription job that pays a decent wage. However, I am moving forward because it is necessary at the moment. Again, thank you for all your help.
Best of luck to you. I took the Career Step course for MT and thought it was really good. While doing research on entry-level MT opportunities I found out that Career Step has a reciprocal agreement with a couple of the larger transcription agencies to hire their graduates, which in my mind makes the course worthwhile. Again, good luck!
A million thanks for potisng this information.
You will not find a MT job that pays a decent wage anymore. All the jobs are being outsourced to India. I work for the top MT company, M*Modal, and only make 8 cpl. We cannot make a decent line count now because the only doctors we get are the foreign ones, which take forever to transcribe. All the easy work goes to India. The company is Indian-owned and American workers are being phased out. We get threatening emails every day about how we will be terminated over any petty thing. It is quite demoralizing to work in this field now. I’m just holding on til retirement in a year or so.
You are right on the money. It is so disheartening. I have worked in this field for 30 plus years and have tons of experience and am a very good transcriber/editor. Nowhere in the job field has the pay gone down for this work like it has in transcription or so-called editing where you correct 60 to 70% of a report. Just incredulous.
Also, I think “favorites” get the good work or easy editing and transcribing and they can be in India or here in the states!!!!
Dear Sir,
We are medical transcription organization in India (Hyderabad) and we have a very strong team with good experience and excess capacity. We will be glad to take up transcription work/projects. We would like to know transcription and VRE line rate details. Please contact us for a quotation and further discussion.
Thanks & Regards
NAGARAJU. M
http://www.sbinfomedical.in
Cell: +91 9866996142
Office: 040 23706142.
I have read a lot of inforamation about medical transcription, and only a few articles such as these gave me a significan and relevent insight about medical transcripiton. many thanks to your article. please give me more information about medical transcription. I want to know more.
I am a single mom of 3 small children and daycare is not cheap, I am in the process of looking for a job. This seems too good to be true; work from home, avoid the high cost of day care and also enjoy what I do….I would love to know more. Thank you for your time.
Stacy Bell
to stacy bell- medical transcription certainly isn’t the highest paying career but there are some real benefits to working from home such as avoiding a commute and the high price of gas, no work wardrobe required and in your case not having to pay for day care. check out the “become a medical transcriptionist” page for the various ways to get into the field.
don’t think it is going to be easy. if you have 3 kids at home, you will not be able to do transcription unless they are sleeping, which means you work at night. You have to be able to fully concentrate on what you are doing without interruptions in order to do a good job.
I’m extremely inspired with your writing talents and also with the format in your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you modify it yourself? Anyway stay up the nice high quality writing, it?s rare to see a great weblog like this one nowadays..
i love this site!!
This website is the really good.
I recently took an early retirement after 20 years of nursing and am looking to start a new career. After researching your site I think medical transcription might be just the thing. I really can’t take the physical aspect of nursing anymore and was looking for something more sedentary. Can you recommend a MT course for someone like me?
Rosana – I think transcription would be an excellent choice for you. With all your nursing expereince I’m sure you would breeze through the anatomy and medical terminology. I don’t know enough about the courses available to make an informed endorsement but I was very pleased with the Career Step course that I took. The course was broken down into modules that were self-paced and as I said somebody with your nursing expereince could probably skip the modules they are proficient in.
I’m a long-time MT and really like my job but never even dreamed of developing a website for other MT’s. It’s a really good site!
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Hi, I like your site! I have worked as a transcriptionist for a family practice from 1993-2000. I have since been working at a University Hospital in oncology working on clinical research protocols. I would like to go back to transcription so I can work from home. Do you have any suggestions on how I can refresh my skills and familiarize myself with the new software that companies are using now? I have no doubt that I can transcribe accurately and efficiently, but I need to be able to market myself (I type 90 wpm). Any suggestions would be really appreciated. Thanks
If i were in your position i would look into becoming certified. the 7 years you spent as a transcriptionist certainly speaks for your abilities and a recent certification indicates that you have kept the skills current. with regard to software most companies have their own preference and training is provided for new hires. these programs are typically very user freindly. In my case i send/receive files through an FTP site to my employer. I type all my reports using microsoft word, which has so many great features that i included using word in my transcription tips.
That’s good advice!
Kudos to the website. I hear of so many people interested in becoming transcriptionist that I am afraid the market will be flooded. Do you see that as a real possibility? Also, is billing and coding an area that will have the best chance of finding a position? I only ask, because I am in my late 50′s, with many years of administrative work and would like to have a change. (Mid life career change
. Finally, do you think “Dragon” software will affect the transcriptionist business?
Career Step appears to be an excellent school and would be my choice.
Thank you for providing such valuable and helpful knowledge. I guess we get a little skittish in our career choice with today’s economy. Ollie_B
The demand for trained medical transcriptionists is predicted to increase through the next decade. Dragon and other speech recognition programs are sure to have a huge impact. Some physicians will resist of course but most will probably transition to voice recognition in coming years. However, for the sake of accuracy reports generated through speech recognition need proofreading. Transcriptionists who embrace this technology and become comfortable with editing will survive in teh transcription industry. as to thequestion of billing/coding versus transcription training i would jump at a course that combined the 2 programs just from an employability standpoint. Good luck in whatever you choose!
I also took the Career Step mt course and was very satisfied.
i took the career step course 3 years ago and got a job right off. i think career step has a coding course too.
Hi,
I have 17 years experienced in a large hospital but for some reason cant find a job where I live in North Riverside, Il 60546. I want to do it at home as I have digitel software and word, etc., but I dont know anyone that will hire me who has always done inhouse work. Any advice in getting an inhouse job, or work at home for the first time.
Thank you.
Allen G. Paulson
Allen- I would apply with one of the big agencies because they are more likely to have someone available to orient you to the company. Most of the bigger companies offer online testing and base their hiring on those who are able to pass. Medquist is one of the biggest transcription employers and Nuance is expanding rapidly. I would try them first.
I hope you’re still posting contemms about Career Step. I took the course and finished it in about 7 weeks in 2002, working on it at night (after putting in 8+ hours of work at my job) and weekends. I set a very strict schedule for myself and stuck to it.Right after I finished the course, I started applying for MT jobs. I got the second one I applied for. I worked for that company until they merged or (or were bought up by) a national company. The national company flew me out to their HQ on the east coast to give me training on their system for 2 days, sent me a computer with their software on it, and off I went.After just a few months working for the national company, I was doing so well that in addition to doing MT, I was asked to begin editing other MT’s work. I was also assigned to the toughest doctors they had in the toughest specialities because the company knew I could deliver. So if you worked hard at the Career Step course like I did, you could learn everything you needed to know to be a very successful MT. I liked the course as it is completely up to the individual how much time they want to put into it. I couldn’t see spending (at that time) 2 or 3 times as much for something that wasn’t going to be any better after investigating both M-Tec and Andrews. What really matters is what you bring to the course in terms of willingness to work hard. I have no connection whatsoever with Career Step other than having taken the course. I haven’t looked at their web site since 2003, so I didn’t even know whether they were still in business and ran across this thread while looking for something else on Google. I have told other people about CS but have never referred anyone to them or gotten a referral fee from them. I just tell people about my job, what I did to get it, and let them decide how they want to proceed. Probably a better indicator of whether someone is going to be a successful MT than looking at what course they took is to ask do they have the discipline to get the training, go after the work, and make a real job out of it.
Hi, Allen again, you can email me if you’d like at allenpaulson@yahoo.com with any advice.
Thanks again.
Allen – I did a little research and found that Nuance is currently seeking entry-level medical transcriptionists and is taking applications through their website http://www.nuance-nts.com/job-search.asp.
M Modal (formerly Medquist) is offering a $500 sign-on bonus for acute care transcriptionists willing to work the night shift. They require 1 year of recent transcription expereince. You can also apply to M Modal online http://www.medquist.com/Home/Careers/MTApplication/tabid/542/Default.aspx
thanks for the imformative site
I’m sitting here past midnight working on files not to make extra money but because nothing came in until after 4pm today (even though i was ready and waiting to work at 8:30am) so in order to get in a full day I have to work these ridiculous hours – just to make a lousy $250 a week. What happened to the medical transcription field? Have we all become so used to being in the shit that we accept anything? I know that I do.
I see so many comments on your site and other MT sites about the state of our industry and I can’t agree more. Computers and technology only improved the qaulity of our work. I think that outsourcing work overseas was what killed us. In countries where people don’t have to spend that much for rent/food/etc. the wages are probably great. In America they equate to less than minimum wages in some cases. It’s scary because we aren’t manufacturing flyswatters we’re contrubuting to the legal document known as the patient’s chart.
I wanted to let you know that I got a job from my resume posted on this site. Thanks so much!!!
Someone please help! I graduated from an online medical transcription school 7 months ago but I can’t find a job. Either the company wants expereince or I can’t pass the transcription test. I’m starting to think that I wasted the $2000 I spent on the course. Is there anyplace out there hirng new graduates?
Those tests are the best way to keep you at your job. Every time I think about changing companies I get to the test part and change my mind.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who works at M Modal. I just graduated my MT course and was offered a job with them. I really wanted to work for a local company but haven’t had any luck and am thinking about taking the M Modal offer.
I haven’t taken any offense at the ptoisng of this information, only at what’s presented without any attribution. Indeed I want people to present facts here and elsewhere on the site. But not just unsubstantiated accusations.And that’s what’s bugged me about all the other stuff on here (and elsewhere). People moan about how they took an MT course and then couldn’t get a job. So obviously the school is a scam and Career Step is by no means the only one they blame.As for the lawsuit, I read the answer to the complaint this morning. It was presented to the court on June 2nd, and an answer to the amended complaint was filed June 30th.No apology necessary, what we’re dealing with is a communication problem both between us and on the broader topic. In the end, all we want to do is to provide reliable information to people who are interested in work-at-home jobs. In this case, we received a number of inquiries asking if career Step is a scam. I’ve seen no evidence that it is. I also know enough about the venture capital business to know that someone doesn’t plunk down $22 Million if they think the company is ripping people off.Do honest people disagree? Sure, that’s why we have courts. Do dishonest people disagree? Sure that’s why we have courts. As you say, let’s let the legal process decide.As for the changing nature of transcription, I couldn’t agree more. You make a very good point, maybe the best one presented anywhere in these comments. For folks reading all this diatribe, consider this: Voice recognition and electronic medical records are primed to turn the industry on it’s head. Add to that the problem that a huge percentage of the MTs are ready to retire. Things are bound to change, perhaps more rapidly than in other fields in the case of transcription. Shift happens, as video aptly depicts. It’s makes a very good point, your point, really. That is, are we training people for jobs that won’t even exist in 10 years? Or conversely, are we not training people for jobs that will exist?
1 good thing abotu M Modal is once you get approved for a few accounts you won’t be waiting around for files like with some smaller companies.
M-Modal just took over our department and we had a meeting with them, and they actually said that in the morning, there are not very many dictations, so we shouldn’t log on then. Everything they said sounded awful.
Oh god… that sounds dismal.. M-Modal just got the contract for my department, displacing 130 of us by the end of August. If I want to work for them, I want to work during the day, not in the afternoon or evening.. I went online and took their test, but they said I did not meet their current requirements and to take a course and try again later… hello… I have been transcribing for ten years now in the children’s hospital… I think I am qualified..:)
M Modal also gives benefits, which most small companies don’t.
I just finished tainkg the Career Step practical portion (dictation) of the final exam for the second time and I am convinced that no one can pass it. I am not stupid. I aced the written portion back in February but failed the practical and I am sure that I just failed again today. I cannot understand the idiotic doctors they put on the test to transcribe. I have no clue what they are saying in certain parts of each report. I have spent hours looking up words online and in the medical dictionary and other sources, but if you don’t know what they are saying, how can you look it up? I have wasted the past 22 months of my life doing this and I am furious. Do not waste your money or your time with Career Step. I had to pay for 3 extensions and I wish I had never read about them in Will Work From Home by Tory Johnson when I was out of work more than 2 years ago. What a complete waste. Their program is crap because the doctor dictation they use throughout the course is hard to understand. Foreign doctors should not be used at the beginning. We are in America and should have normal English-speaking doctors to train with. Also, regional accents should not penalize me as I know they will for today’s test. They are worthless and I want my $3,000 and my last 2 years back. What a freaking waste.
rogerio- I took the Career Step course for my MT certificate. I’m sorry you had a bad expereince with them but I thought the reference material was pretty good and the practice dictation was comparable to what I found in my transcription experience.
In order to be a good transcriptionist you need to know your anatomy. You also need to understand what clinic they are dictating for and what area of anatomy they are talking about in that particular section. Sometimes the only thing that saves me is knowing that if it is a GI clinic, then they won’t be focussing on or talking about the urinary system… I went through a year long course also, but I busted my butt studying 6 hours every day AFTER school… It still took me over 5 weeks to find a job and I made lots of mistakes when I was first starting.
From the sounds of it, if you have taken stuff twice and asked for extensions then transcription is not the job fit for you. I am really sorry you had a terrible experience. Can I ask why you decided to go into transcription to start with? For me it was a love of all things medical and being physically unable and far too old to do a good portion of the jobs… being able to sit, use my mind and fast typing skills made this a perfect fit for me.. what brought you to wanting to transcribe?
Well, they don’t give benefits.. you pay dearly for them and with the line rate they pay… wow.. but if the only reason you are working is for benefits, then go for it.
I like editing too. It goes so fast and I get a chuckle about the outrageous mistakes the program makes.
I don’t mind editing but I think the 4cpl pay rate stinks!
After the mortgage industry went south and I got laid off I took a MT course with the idea of opening my own agency but with all of the negative comments and articles I am hesitant to try this now. What are your thoughts?
Of course I was not iiinnuatsng that anyone can sit down in front of a keyboard (even with great typing speed and accuracy) and bang out medical reports left and right. I was merely relating my personal experience of 30+ years without the benefit of formal training. Alot of us old timers only had books at our disposal back then to look up a word or we turned to our fellow worker and asked for help listening to a word. Computers??? They didn’t exist the Internet?? That was just space-age stuff. I started on a Smith-Corona with white-out tabs. To this day, it would never occur to me to look up a word on-line I still refer to my books; I guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. However, if there are schools available to teach the profession and if you can afford to go more power to you!!! Since I have been in the business for so long and have worked for quite a few different types of organizations, I just thought it was interesting that in all the years I’ve worked not one prospective employer has ever asked me where I went to school. The only thing they were interested in was my experience; even the large MTSO’s never inquired about my school background. After reading all the comments going back and forth about which school was better, I just wanted to put things in prospective. It’s really all about the student and their own desire to learn no matter where they go to school. Good luck to all. PS Tom my son is a US Marine stationed in Camp Pendleton in San Diego and I recently had the pleasure of visiting your wonderful city when I came to see my son.
Sonya if you’re considering opening a 1-man operation MT agency then I say go for it. If you’re planning on having a lot of accounts and some employees I say Don’t do it!
How can some companies guarantee minimum wage when pay is based on per line?
The company I work for guarantees minimum wage. They keep track of when I’m signed in to the system and then if my per line rate doesn’t equal minimum wage for the hours I’m signed in they will supplement it. This has only happened once in 2 years.
wow… what company are you working for?
Justine – does your company pay the minimum wage for the state you live in or the state the company is located in?
I hadn’t thought about minimum wage being different in different states. I live in Washington where it’s quite high. I have been getting a lot less work from the company I work through now and I’m thinking maybe I should check out some employeers who guarantee pay. How do I find out who is offering the minimum wage guarantee?
I think anyone with “employee” status is guaranteed minimum wage.
The bigger transcription employers like M Modal and Nuance guarantee minimum wage and other benefits such as unemployment if you lose your job. Independent contractors don’t get this.
that will be interesting to see if that happens up here in Canada. I will keep you posted on what they offer us when they come to do their presentation for us…
I am a longtime employee of a company that just got bought out by a bigger company. I am having the hardesst time withthe new QA department. they are so inconsistent. 1 person says do it this way and then the next has another way. I actually got a write-up for doing it the way the 2nd person said.
frustrated — i think me and you are working for the same place. we also got bought out and merged with a bigger company. I have gotten 2 write-ups recently from QA about the stupidest things.
I just graduated from Career Step last month and am working already. I see so much about MT’s having a hard time finding a job tha I wanted to pass on some good news.
I just wanted to add a positive comment. I graduated from Career Step last month and got a job right away. Career Step has an agreement with some of the big transcription companies to hire their graudates. my supervisor is really nice and understanding of the fact that i’m new. I just got my 1st paycheck and it was actualy pretty good. I’m really happy with choosing transcription.
carole- I just started transcription too. I graduated a couple of months ago and just started work. My employer actually offers better benefits than the retail chain where I worked before starting MT school. I see so much bad stuff about transcription it’s good to see somebody is happy with their job for once.
Medical transcription is still a good job for anyone who needs a flexible schedule and likes working from home. I home schooled my 2 daughters while working full-time as an MT and made a decent living. Right now it seems like I put in a lot more hours to make the same pay.
I agree with Kim. I also raised my children while working as an MT. It was a great job. I was able to be there to see the kids off in the morning and when they got home from school. I could prepare wonderful dinners for the family – all in between transcribing reports. I still do a little transcription on the side but went back to school at age 40 because I think medical transcriptionists are becoming obselete.
i appreciate the fact that this site doesn’t have a lot of negative about overseas outsourcing. i like transcription but hate the sites where comments make me feel like a criminal for just doing my job.
I’ve seen my income go down over the years even at the same company but i still love transcription.
as i’m writing this tears are literally running down my cheeks. today is my first day as an employee at ____. before that i had my own transcription agency for over 10 years. at one time i had 4 employees but at the end it was just me and a part-time person. the tears are from how little i’m actually making after so many years in the business.
i started as an mt last year and i have no problem with my job. when i signed up for the class i wasn’t expecting to make a lot of money i just wanted a job where i could be home with my newborn son. i heard some many scary storeis about companies that take your money and promise a job that until i actually got my first paycheck i was still thinking it was some kind of scam. i laugh about that a year later but really i’m still a little bit amazed that i can make a decent living from home. the money i save in daycare makes it worth it.
I just started as a mt last month and really feel like I’m getting the hang of it. I wanted to thank you for this site because I’m using so many of the tips.
Hi, I live in Ontario, Canada. Career Step offers a program in MT, on the Canadian Site. I read all of the comments and nobody seems to be from Canada on here. Does anybody know if Career Step has any partners in Canada?? so that the hiring process for me may be easier as well. Thanks.
The physician group where I transcribed for 6 years switched to VR 6 months ago and I got laid off. I’m happy to report that I start back there this week because of the hassle and errors they ran into with VR!
Yay!!! I have been told that VR is a picky picky program and will make mistakes… just think about the spell checker on your iphone and that will give you a quick look at what mistakes can be made with VR…:) congrats on getting your job back!